Historical Society events

In addition to Saturday's 2 p.m. logging presentation at Northtown Library, 711 County Rd 10 NE, Blaine, the Anoka County Historical Society has a number of other upcoming events scheduled. A sampling:

Feb. 5: "Art & music of the Civil War." 2 p.m., Anoka County History Center, 2135 Third Av. N., Anoka. With author and musician Patricia Bauer and illustrator David Geister, who together created the children's book "B is for Battle Cry, a Civil War Alphabet."

Feb. 7: "History of the Anoka County Sheriff's Office." 2 p.m., Rum River Library, 4201 Sixth Av., Anoka. The event pulls from the recent book "Keepers of the County: Crime and the Anoka County Sheriff's Office," written by Vickie Wendel, a program manager for the historical society.

The book was the brainchild of former County Sheriff Bruce Andersohn, according to Todd Mahon, the Historical Society's executive director. The volume contains vignettes about different events through the years, along with a number of notable characters, Mahon said.

March 5: "Civil War Women," on the role of local women in the war. 2 p.m. at the History Center. A focus of the presentation is Lydia Hancock of Elk River, a nurse for the men of Company A, the Eighth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry. Hancock continued to fight for the cause of veterans, including army nurses, and their families, well after the war ended, Mahon said.

March 14: "Bringing Local History to Life: Anoka State Hospital History." 2 p.m., Rum River Library, Anoka. Mahon will discuss how the state hospital wound up in Anoka, how its architecture related to the treatment, what that entailed and how philosophies about treatment evolved into the late 20th century.

For more information about Anoka County Historical Society events, go to http://anokacountyhistory.org/calendar-of-events or call 763-421-0600.